In the preferred application of the invention, that is, for production of cognac, the distillation takes place in two stages.
The first distillation, called “first heating” or “heating of the wine” obtains from the wine a first distillate called the “broullis.”
To date, this first heating has been advantageously conducted in stills with a relatively small capacity, traditionally 25 hectoliters.
In fact, the person skilled in the art knows from experience that spirits from a first distillation in larger stills, such as 50 or even 100 hectoliters, lack “finesse.”
More specifically, to the experienced taster, these spirits are characterized by a certain heaviness and are clearly distinguished by their organoleptic properties from the spirits obtained by distillation in 25-hectoliter stills, which are lighter. The term “heaviness” is used to describe the gustatory and/or olfactory impressions reminiscent of fatty substances.
Under these conditions, the person skilled in the art naturally sees distillation in a 25-hectoliter still as the standard for quality of a spirit.
The problem is that the quantitative requirements in the production of spirits, particularly cognac, justify the use of large 50- to 100-hectoliter stills for the first distillation. For the same production volume, the cost to make and install these stills is much lower than that of 25-hectoliter stills.